Airasia’s Logistic and Channel Management Free Essays

string(164) " consumer behavior has changed, all of the companies are forcing to change their supply chain processes to adopt the new channel to meet the customer expectations\." As Airasia’s vision is to be the largest low cost airline in Asia, our proposal might be a useful tool for Airasia to achieve their vision. The goal of our proposal is to decrease the operational cost of Airasia to attain cost efficiencies and provided the public with a lowest cost so that â€Å"Now everyone can fly† with Airasia. Objective of this proposal is to develop e-Supply Chain Management to attain a much lower operation cost for Airasia in the coming year. We will write a custom essay sample on Airasia’s Logistic and Channel Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now In this proposal, we will discuss about; 1. Analyze of the factors contributing to enable e-SCM for Airasia, 2. Create an appropriate implementation plans to develop e-SCM, 3. Discuss the environmental factors that will affect the implementation, 4. Determine which department will e-SCM help the most, 5. Show the benefit of e-SCM to Airasia and stakeholders and 6. Suggestion for how to further improve the e-SCM. Overview of the company (Airasia, 2010) Now everyone can fly, this slogan held in every Malaysian’s mind deeply. Airasia was an Asia’s leading airline with a dream of making flying possible for everyone. The vision of Airasia is to be the largest low cost airline in Asia and serving the 3 billion people who are currently underserved with poor connectivity and high fares. The mission of Airasia included; †¢ To be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family †¢ Create a globally recognized ASEAN brand †¢ To attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with Airasia †¢ Maintain the highest quality product embracing technology to reduce coast and enhance service levels There are 6 main values that Airasia focused in to attain the lowest cost. The strategies used were; ? Safety first o Partnering with GE Engine Services the world’s most renowned maintenance providers and complying with the world airline operations. o GE Engine Services began servicing jet aircraft engines over 50 years ago. o Provide large or small jet engines for commercial or military aircraft as well as engines for marine and industrial applications (Breaking Travel News, 2002). ? Hight Aircraft Utilisation o Implementing the regions fastest turnaround time at only 25 minutes, assuring lower costs and higher productivity. Low Fare, No Frills o Providing guests with the choice of customizing services without compromising on quality and services.   Example services provided food ; beverage, merchandise, excite, baggage supersize, pick a seat, premium service or corporate booking. ? Streamline Operations o Making sure the process are as simple as possible. o Example online ticket booking. ? Lean Distribution System o Offering a wide and innovative range of distribution channels to make booking and traveling easier. Strategy of distribution like call centre, sales office ; airport sales counter, authorized travel agents, mobile booking or online. ? Point to Point Network o Applying the point-to-point network keeps operation simple and cost low Analyze Airasia’s Annual Report According to Airasia’s Five-Year Financial Highlights from 2006 until 2009, Airasia’s revenue is increasing steadily. Unfortunately, in year 2008 is having loss around RM497 million. This is because their operating expenses (-RM3,207 million) had exceeded their revenue (RM2,955 million). From the report, year 2008 Airasia had huge amount of air craft fuel expenses (-RM1,390 million) and derivatives (-RM679 million) on operational cost compare with years 2009 –RM928 million and RM22 million. Due to the fuel expenses and derivatives, it causes Airasia making loss in year 2008 (Airasia Berhad, 2010). From the balance sheet, we can know that net current asset of year 2008 and year 2009 was increasing from RM163 million to RM511 million. It is because of non-current assets and current assets increased and current liabilities decreased. On non-current liabilities, borrowings of RM6,068 million in year 2008 and RM7,068 million in year 2009 (Airasia Berhad, 2010). |Key Ratios (YE 31 Dec) |2008 |2009 | |Revenue growth (%) |n/a |8. 4 | |EBITDA growth (%) |n/a |86. | |Pretax margins (%) |(15. 3) |16. 8 | |Net profit margins (%) |(15. 4) |16. 3 | |Interest cover (x) |1. 6 |2. 1 | |Effective tax rate (%) |n/a |3. | |Net dividend payout (%) |n/a |0. 0 | |Debtors turnover (days) |91 |88 | |Stock turnover (days) |4 |3 | |Creditors turnover (days) |149 |127 | Adapted]From: Chew. B, 2010. Comparing with Malaysia Airlines, Malaysia Airlines have more revenue compare with Airasia but their profit after tax are around the same figure, which are RM493 million in year 2009, RM245 million in year 2008, RM853 million in year 2007, RM133 million loss in year 2006 and RM1,251 million lose in year 2005. Although Airasia revenue lower than Malaysia Airlines around RM8,442 million but Airasia can gain the profit like Malaysia Airlines. In conclusion, the strategies used by Airasia are very successful (Malaysia Airlines, 2010). Compare Airasia with Malaysia airlines |2009 |Airasia |Malaysia Airlines |Differences in % | |Revenue |RM3,133 million |RM11,574 million |269. 42% | |Net profit after tax |RM506 million |RM493 million |-2. 57% | |Passengers carried |14,253 million |6,549 million |-54. 5% | |Fuel Expenses |RM927 million |RM3,497 million |277. 24% | |Net Current Asset |RM511 million |RM3,023 million |491. 59% | Balance Sheet Ratio for year 2009 |Ratio |Formula |Airasia |Malaysia Airlines | |Current |CA/CL |1. |0. 86 | |Quick |(Cash+AR)/CL |0. 86 |0. 74 | |Net Margin |NPAT/Sales |16. 2 |0. 04 | |Operating Margin |Operating profit/Sales |0. 15 |-0. 06 | |Return On Assets |NPAT/T. Assets |0. 04 |0. 6 | |Return On Investment |NPAT/Net Worth |0. 19 |0. 66 | The factors contributing to e- enable SCM in Airasia The invention of internet has greatly influence the traditional supply chain management in the world. Many company realize the benefits of apply IT into their supply chain management. Internet has prov ided a great opportunity for company to share and access information faster and increase the productivity and efficiency of the supply chain performance. Other than that, e-enabled SCM lead to deduct the cost and add extra value for the company. Those enabling software like CRM, ERP and EDI which can help in make improvement on the integration with its buyers, sellers, suppliers and partners. Rapid changing of technology forcing the companies must plan to change their business strategy in order to understand consumer behavior and fulfill their needs. Due to the inefficiencies of the traditional supply chain management, many company decided to acquiring e-SCM are aim to better manage their supply chain flow to ensure it is operating smoothly. E-SCM is taking advantage in coordinate the cooperation with suppliers. E-commerce allow the seller promote and sell their products and services through the internet. Some of the buyers today prefer to search, buy, compare or book the products and services on the internet. Since the consumer behavior has changed, all of the companies are forcing to change their supply chain processes to adopt the new channel to meet the customer expectations. You read "Airasia’s Logistic and Channel Management" in category "Papers" Thus, the supply chain needs to be different with the traditional channel. Airasia can provide customers booking flight ticket via internet (Gimenez et al. , 2003). Information sharing is a crucial part in supply chain management. Traditional supply chain management provided limited information flow among the employees, customers or the suppliers. That is higher cost and time consuming to get the information and it will cause the company can’t make a good decision. Therefore, internet provided a chance for company to share and access the real time information among its partners to ensure effective. Extranet can build a network to link the company and the partners together and granted to share and access information faster. Therefore, company can easily get the urgent information instantly in low cost. It can make a big improvement in enhancing the integration company with its suppliers. Other than that, an intranet can send and accept the documents through electronic media among the firms. In addition, internet is a high speed medium where can reach global. Internet can help the Company connect with their foreign partners in a minute for business information, discussion and proceed to procurement decision. It can know as e-procurement, example, Airasia can order the air bus spare part via internet (Gimenez et al. , 2003). Knowledge sharing, in the database management is not only offer precious information, there are also including planning, analyze the result and transfer and transform into meaningful information and share with business partners . Company can get the data with just a few clicks and help them to make a better decision for their business. That is providing big advantages to the company where is cost saving and improve the efficiency of their business decision. Example, Airasia can collect their sales data and analyze it into meaningful information in order to respond to customer needs and demands and react quickly to the market. It can also use to forecast the company sales, so, the company can make decision to improve their sales (Gimenez et al. , 2003). One of the factors e-enabled supply chain management is it can design an effective supply chain to strive for effective collaboration and integration with suppliers and customers, increase the competitive advantages in the intense competition environment, improve the operational process, and gain a long-term benefit. Even though internet is an inexpensive and faster way to obtain the useful information to assist the company to improve the supply chain management, company has to design a good supply chain structure to make the supply chain flow more effective. The better of the supply chain design, the more benefits company can gain from it. Intense competition today has forcing the company to do better always in order to survive in the market. Internet has offering the company a chance to design a better supply chain to enhance its supply chain performance by adding new functions to achieve the company objectives (Gimenez et al. 2003). Implementation plans to strategize an e-SCM In competitive environment today, internet technology provided strong tools to strengthen the company’s electronic supply chain management. If the company can carry out an appropriate implement planning, it would lead to obtain a competitive edge. A poor planning may cause supply chain produce the poor result like low quality, poor services and higher cost. Initially, the company must clarify the supply chain goals to indentify which goals are going to set to get best effect in the business. Competitive level, distribution, production, financial and customers needs need to be concern to assure the new supply chain able to achieve company goals and fulfill customers’ need. Outsourcing can be more suitable because operating a new supply chain is costly. After that, conduct a supply chain readiness audit to analyze the business. To understand the existing company core and capabilities priority. How the company is going to respond with high demand, global reach? It such as an evaluation of business before a new supply chain is implementing. Next step is developing a business case, the top management should develop a business case that understands electronic supply chain can increase the performances of business and it would improve the customer satisfaction, supplier integration and cost effectiveness. To make a better business case can help in achieve company’s mission and objectives. Fourth step is establishing a supply chain coordination unit. Establish a skillful e-SCM team to implement and coordinate the supply chain. The team is to make sure the supply chain is operating under a smoothness condition, reduce the cost, facilitate business performance and increase customer satisfaction. Training has to give out to improve the SCM team skill, knowledge and leadership (Kalakota et al, 2001). Next, begin supplier integration. Business partners are the important part in the supply chain to help the company to achieve their new business projects or objectives. Electronic supply chain will be inefficient if without any supplier support. Develop a performance score card to evaluate the performance of new supply chain. Reengineering might need when there have problems occur or something is going wrong. Penalties and performance reward may place into the measurement as incentives to drive e-SCM efficiency. The following step is always educate, educate, educate the members who are involve in the supply chain management by provide training, education, mentoring to the members to get the newest knowledge and information to perform well. At the final step, company has to learn to manage failure. Not every system will always implementing smoothly, failure will lead into inefficiencies and influence the company daily operations. Thus, company must able to cope with the failure, understand the problem and learn from the failure and make improvement on it to prevent the problems occur again (Kalakota et al, 2001). Airasia is using Low Cost Carrier (LCC) business strategy to operate their business and transform supply chain management to electronic. Airsia is going to adopt several systems to support the e-SCM to operate smoothly. All of the systems are operating to achieve the business goals by cost effective of the operation (ERP and CRS) and maximize the revenue (YMS). Airasia attempts to integrate information technology with current supply chain management to carry out some planning and strategy that is implementing effectively to support and develop their business to coordinate their daily operation, integration and communication (Kho, 2005 and Wong, 2009). Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) is introduced to improve the internal operational process and achieving low cost business strategy. In airline industry, complex network, huge daily operation and a lots of external factor that will influence the operational performance like bad weather. In order to be successfully implementing a good supply chain, Airasia can use APS to become a core of their supply chain to deal with the customer and supplier requirements. A series of effective functions will provide by APS to support Airasia in their daily operational activities. There are supplier portals, it will provide some useful information for Airasia to help them avoid from any system error such as order processing. APS also assist in inventory planning and maintenance management. APS is ability to integrate Airasia, its maintenance supplier, GE aviation, and other suppliers to manage the inventory such as spare part to check resource availability and place order priority to prevent out of maintenance stock and set a maintenance schedule to ensure the aircraft is in a safety condition all the time. Route profitability analysis is conducting to set and plan an efficient route in order to save cost and increase revenue (Kho, 2005 and Wong, 2009). Computer Reservation System (CRS) is an integrated web-based inventory and reservation system including call center, airport departure control function, internet and others. Airasia is going to use e-commerce to facilitate the online reservation and purchase e-ticket process. Intermediary had eliminated in this process. Airasia will offer 24 hours per day and 7 days a week for real time transaction that enable local and global customers to book the ticket anytime. The system software will provide data in online booking and categorize stored, update automatically and help in scheduling flight activities. This is also cost effective by less depend on human resource for data entry. Therefore, Airasia can fully utilize the available of vast booking information where bring customers to the website to minimize the unsold seat and maximize their sales. The comprehensive information is available by the supply chain system on the internet for customer to view, search and compare with others companies before they decide to purchase in terms of service, price or flight time. CRS has provided convenient for the company to maximize their sales to meet customers’ needs (Kho et al, 2005 and Wong, 2009). Beside that, Airasia had decided to acquire a Wireless Delivery System (WDS) to provide convenient to the customer so they able to book ticket through their mobile phone while increasing Airasia sales (Kho et al, 2005 and Wong, 2009). ERP is application software integrated with its company system that helps the company to manage the operational activities effectively and efficiency. Airasia can implement ERP system which is a system that will focus on company daily operations and help in save operational cost, maintain integrity, speed up reporting and increase efficiency of the operational performance and better manage its electronic supply chain (Kho et al, 2005 and Wong, 2009). Yield Revenue System (YMS) used to aid in understand, react and anticipated the buyer behavior to enhance the company revenue. The system can effectively result in optimize the Airasia’s flight ticket price and maximize the company expected revenue. Example, seat price is available by different level in the different time. A ticket booking at a later time may be charge a higher price than an earlier booking. Other than that, the system will help the company adjust the ticket price when there have high demand in that destination. YMS is obtaining advantages in charge a lower price to maximize the revenue and adjust the price into higher price when the peak time through the demand forecast. In this case, Airasia can fully understand their consumer behavior and implementing the effective strategy to achieve their revenue objectives (Kho et al, 2005 and Wong, 2009). ECRM is a system software use to build a long term relationship with the customers. Many companies are plan to cut customer service cost while improve customer satisfaction. ECRM is providing extra advantages compare with offline CRM. Airasia will use ECRM to manage the complaints from the customers through the call center and solve the customer problem and question by FAQs with further customer service support line on the Airasia homepage. Besides that, ECRM also provide convenience for customer to check in through the internet and mobile phone. ECRM can help the Airasia indentify the frequent customer and reward them through reward program like frequently flyer program. Email notification may be send to the customers to inform them about the promotion information (Wong, 2009). Environmental factors that may affect the implementation of e-SCM in AirAsia External factors Sociological Social environment includes the cultures, customs, mores, values and demographic characteristic of the society in which an organization functions. Social processes also determine the goods and services, as well as the standards of business conduct, that a society is likely to value and accept. (Smith, 2010) In Malaysia, most of the population is educated and 65. % of Malaysians use internet (Internet World Statistic, 2010). This eases the process of implement e-SCM. When suppliers, customers and employees of Airasia are educated and able to operate a computer, it will be very easy for them to understand the concept of e-SCM, accept and use it. Therefore, the learning cost of Airasia’s e-SCM can be lower down. However, Airasia’s supplier have different values in implementing e-SCM. They may refuse to share actual data with other companies due to lack of trust (Scalet, 2001). This caused a barrier while implementing e-SCM. Political The political environment reflects the relationship between business and government, usually in the form of government regulation of business (Smith, 2010). Political factors such as labour laws, tax, trade policy, and political stability defines what Airasia can and cannot do while implementing e-SCM. During year 2009, the Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi was set to step down in March 2009. This caused political uncertainty. This issue may lead to difficulties in setting rules or changing any structure in Airasia in order to implement e-SCM. Besides, Airasia also operate in other countries, many laws will be different compare to Malaysia. So Airasia will face another issue while implement e-SCM. Economic Economic environment refers to relevant conditions that exist in the economic system in which a company operates. Those factors in economic environment are interest rates, exchange rate, economic growth, inflation rate and others (Smith, 2010). For example, the rising of oil and arousal of low-cost competitors like Firefly will affect Airasia’s operating cost. They will influence the profits and availability of funds and cause implication on implementation of e-SCM (Yahoo! Answer, 2010). When Airasia is lack of fund, there will also lack of employees training cost on e-SCM and implementation cost. A Thai individual holds 1%, Airasia holds 49% and Shin Corporation hold 50% of Thai Airasia. Shin Corporation was owned by previous Thailand prime minister and it has strong financial strength to support Airasia to implement technology such as e-SCM (International Transport Workers’ Federation, 2007). Technological Technological environment includes human knowledge, work methods, physical equipment, electronics and telecommunication and various processing systems which used to perform business activities. (Wong, 2009) Technology nowadays helps a lot in e-SCM. The main technology that affects implementation of e-SCM is Internet. It is serving as a medium for information access, transmission and sharing among suppliers, Airasia and its customers. Apart from that, with the aids of other technologies like intranet, extranet, e-mail, online conferencing, and others, all the supply chain partners of Airasia can easily communicate and collaborate. Speed of information flow faster through Airasia to its customers or supplier. The other technology platform is Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). These technologies have stimulated implementation of e-SCM. Internal factors Human Resource When Airasia implement e-SCM strategy, every process, goal or system must be carry out by employees. Thus Airasia need to provide training to its employee, development, restructure and compensate in order to support e-SCM process. However, some employees may resist to change. Airasia must be award or compensate them so that implementation goes smoothly (Lancaster, 2006). Financial Resource Financial is critical factors that affect e-SCM. Without enough funds and capital, e-SCM cannot be implementing because e-SCM needs huge fund to carry out. Although Airasia is suffering loss during year 2009, Airasia can raise its fund to implement e-SCM by selling its share or capital restructure (Whitley, 2009). Physical Resource The infrastructure needed to be carry out e-SCM are corporate portals, workflow system and tools, EDI, intranet, extranet and others groupware tools. Airasia should gets all infrastructure ready to implement e-SCM. Organizational structure A flattened organization structure can easier to accept, adapt and implement new technologies or strategies (Pearlson, 2006). However, board of directors of AirAsia is too narrow, decision making will be too shallow (Onwutalobi, 2008). When implement e-SCM, decision making need to be fast, effective and efficient. Area that e-SCM help most in Airasia E-SCM helps Airasia a lot in this airline competitive industry and one of the ost significant advantages are reduced manifest preparation time, reduced paperwork handling time, reduced time in communicating with up- and down-stream intermodal partners and reduced load transference times between intermodal partners One of the significant e-SCM for an aviation company is the Computer Reservation System (CRS). Online sales through this system captured more than 50 percent of Airasia’s revenue (Corporate website, 2005). The system can also detect the frequent flyers and rewards them accordingly to create higher customer retention rate and lead to a better stage of relationship marketing with the customers. The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) process provides the structure for how relationship with the customer is develop and maintained (Croxton et al. , 2001). CRM can be a system linked together with the CRS in order to obtain the customer description and reservation description to provide them with full range of customer service including the FAQ questions in it. Besides that, Distributed Database System (DDS) is also a core element in this successful Airasia in the airline industry. If Airasia tend to expand to a wider range of market share, a geographically dispersed database can be used to plan its flight schedule carefully. Another element is that Wireless Delivery System (WDS) for the ease of their customers to browse company website details and place their reservation using their mobile phone. Airasia practices online booking if the customers tend to save money for lower price when they purchase their ticket online. The complexity of managing the flexible price can be carrying out using Yield Revenue System (YRS). Airasia can price accordingly by referring to the demand of the flight and pick the best price for Airasia’s yield revenue. Demand driven resource planning and employee scheduling is crucial to the success of all aviation service providers and Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) can help Airasia in the dynamic airline environment. Crew scheduling, fleet management, gate and check-in desk planning and the ground crew planning is a crucial part for the company to overcome the increasing operating costs. Benefits of e-SCM to AirAsia, suppliers, and consumers The common model of e-commerce supply chain system transaction view is shown as below; company, suppliers and consumers are all linked throughout the whole transaction. So, as Airasia applies e-SCM, besides benefit to Airasia, it also benefits to suppliers and consumers (Hultkrantz et al. , 2001). [pic] Company Airasia can use the computer network to operate its businesses as one of the e-SCM strategies. Airasia’s can introduce booking air ticket through the online website which is assisted Air Asia transformed towards a more well-established communication media which is available 24/7. As the forecast, there will about 40% total revenue can be gain via the Internet transactions. It is because of Airasia can take the advantage of B2B marketplaces to forecast the demand for their services and, using differentiation pricing strategy to attract more customers and gain more market share by implementing the Yield Revenue System (YMS). In addition, the e-CRM in e-SCM allows Airasia to provide personalized service and one-to-one relationships between merchants and consumers. The ERP system had speed up reporting and increase efficiency of the operational performance which will directly increase the satisfaction of customers towards the services quality provided by Airasia. At the end, Airasia can enhancing relationship with both existing and potential customers and also the suppliers since the communication became a straightforward task. Besides that, Airasia can cost saving through the Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) which improved the internal operational process and achieving low cost business strategy. The company can also saves on the cost to operating and managing the bricks and mortar outlets and able to reach national markets without any efforts on developing a physical distribution network. Then, Airasia can reduce the cost of sales commission of the middleman, which is the travel agent. So, as a conclusion, if Airasia adopted e-SCM, the company can streamline and restructure the services provided to its customers, developing new markets, and thus creating innovative business opportunities to its customers and suppliers. Suppliers [pic] Due to the supplier’s view of e-commerce supply chain, they concern on the process of buy and fulfillment, ship and logistics and fleet management (Hultkrantz et al. , 2001). The suppliers of Airasia can strengthen their forecasting ability, meet and exceed Airasia’s demands by offering the right promotion of products and services at the right time, as well as align their production schedules based on their manufacturing capacity and inventory management is improved because of the efficient information exchange, inventory visibility and transactions through the EDI system. So, the supplier can minimize ordering, handling and other costs and avoid from the bull-whip effect which may cause them profit loss from the surplus of the stocks or failed to gain more profit because of the shortage of stocks. In addition, the supplier can increase its reputation by meeting the needs and demands from the customers. Consumers The customer’s view point towards the e-SCM can be represented simply, as the figure below (Hultkrantz et al. , 2001). [pic] The e-SCM delivers value across Airasia customers’ supply chain allow customers make quicker and better decisions because the information about inventory visibility and transactions. Airasia customers can compare the pricing and the quality of services provided by Airasia and the others competitors on Internet. Besides that, the e-SCM automating the e-procurement function, simplified purchasing processes which benefits Airasia in lower their transaction costs and overhead. Since the expenses or costs of Airasia reduced, they may able to lower down the pricing but maintaining the same quality of services, which is also considered as benefit to customers. Customers get the same quality of services but with a lower pay. Through Computer Reservation System (CRS), Airasia can launch the ticketless system which the customer of Airasia has the opportunity in doing the booking and purchasing process at anytime, anywhere as customer preferences. Once the customer booking completed, Airasia will provide customer with a program which include customer booking number, payment and travel details. So, the ordering and settlement process had simplified and more convenient to customers during they check in by just mentioning the booking number and must present identification card (IC) or passport of customer for identification purposes. Recommendation and improvement on e-SCM The constantly changing external environments which faced by the organization or company nowadays cause the Airasia have to always ensure that its own internal resources and capabilities are sufficient enough to meet or exceed the needs of the external environment. So, the e-SCM system that Airasia executed need to always keep up-to-date to meet the needs of the external environments. Besides that, in order to survive in the air flight services industry, Airasia also need to always undertake an analysis about their external and internal environment. The e-SCM system plays an important role in this process because the visible of information about the supplier side and customers’ side is useful in the analysis. So, e-SCM system needs to be improved by reducing the degree of error happened and increase the accuracy and reliability of the data flow within the supply chain flow. Since Airasia still receiving a lot complaint from customers on their service, such as the flight delays, or being charged for a lot of things and also customers is not allowed to change flight or get any refund from Airasia if they couldn’t make it. So, Airasia can improve the e-SCM through the Balance Score Card (BSC) which helps in the improvement of the internal and external communications, and monitor the organization performance based on financial perspective, internal business process perspective, learning and growth perspective and also customer perspective. So, by measuring the quality management and customer satisfaction index, Airasia could further improve the e-SCM based on the feedbacks from the customers and the measurement of the performance. On the other hand, Airasia can also further improve the e-SCM in the collaboration area. There are several unexpected events are converging. Therefore, company can increases the number of platforms, packages and more advanced technologies to do the filtering tasks which only permit meaningful collaboration from sharing data and information, to developing customer reward programs and joint forecasts. References The Breaking News (2002), AirAsia ; GE Engine Services Sign Major Engine Maintenance Agreement Worth Over US$20 Million, Breaking Travel News. Available from: – http://www. breakingtravelnews. com/news/article/btn40003248  [Accessed 3 July 2010] Airasia (2010). How to cite Airasia’s Logistic and Channel Management, Papers

MRI vs. CT Scans free essay sample

Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are both diagnostic tests that provide us with high-resolution pictures of any area of the body. Both tests use computers to construct pictures to view within the body. Both of these tests are non-invasive procedures designed to provide medical professionals with a better understanding of the patient’s condition. There are, however, inherent differences in these tests’ mechanisms, sophistication, and application (â€Å"What is the Difference Between CT and MRI? †). In short, computed tomography uses a refined version of X-ray equipment to produce an image of the body. As the patient is slowly moved through the machine, its X-Ray tube rotates around the body and sends beams from all directions to a specific spot on the patient’s body. Because at any moment its beams are confined to a â€Å"slice† of the body about as thick as a dime, CT Scans end the confusion resulting from overlapping structure seen in conventional X-rays. The device’s computer translates this information into a detailed, cross-sectional picture of the region being scanned (Marieb 8). All of the pictures can be saved as a group on a computer, and can also be printed out to show the results to the patient (â€Å"Computed Tomography†). In contrast, an MRI produces high-contrast images for multiply areas of our body. This technique subjects the body to magnetic fields 60,000 times stronger that that of the earth’s. The MRI Pliura 2 primarily maps the body’s content of hydrogen, most of which is in water. The patient essentially lies in a chamber within a huge magnet. When the machine is turned on the body’s hydrogen molecules act like tiny magnets, spinning like tops in the magnetic field. Their energy is also enhanced by the radio waves of the machine, and when the machine is turned off the energy released is translated into a visual image. MRI distinguishes our body’s tissues based on their water content, so it can differentiate between the fatty white matter and the more watery gray matter of the brain (Marieb 9). Both of these tests operate differently and are better suited for different types of diagnoses (â€Å"CT Scan vs. MRI†). An MRI can be done for many different reasons. For instance, it is used to find problems such as tumors, bleeding, injury, or infection within the body. MRI’s are often done to provide more information about a problem seen by another type of medical image (â€Å"Magnetic Resonance Imaging†). For example, an MRI would be a physician’s best alternative if they needed to detect a disease within the body that could not be seen by the CT Scanner (Shiel). The magnetic field of the MRI allows it to gather information that cannot be seen by other types of medical imaging (â€Å"Magnetic Resonance Imaging†). Meanwhile, a CT scan is able to record images of bone, soft tissue, and blood vessels simultaneously, offering a clear advantage over the MRI in some cases. A CT Scan can also be used to guide needle biopsies during surgery. For instance, using a CT Scan can allow cardiologists to view images of arteries without ever having to do experimental testing. This painless procedure greatly assist physicians in diagnosing cardiovascular illnesses, musculoskeletal problems, and certain types of cancer. In some situations the CT would be the preferred scan of choice simply for its speed and limited Pliura 3 restrictions of the patient. Both of these scans offer unique advantages for different situations. The specific area of the body being viewed is another vital aspect to consider when picking which scan to use (Ryan). An MRI can be done for a number of injuries dealing with the head. It can look for aneurysms, bleeding of the brain, or problems such as damage caused by a stroke. The MRI can also find damage of the optic nerves, along with auditory nerves of our ears (â€Å"Magnetic Resonance Imaging†). Because dense structures do not show up at all in an MRI, it peers easily into the skull, enabling the delicate nerve fibers to be seen (Marieb 9). A spinal cord injury can prompt a physician to order an MRI instead of a CT Scan (â€Å"Magnetic Resonance Imaging†). For instance, multiple sclerosis plaques within the spinal cord do not show up well in CT Scans, but are dazzlingly clear in an MRI (Marieb 9). Additionally, the MRI will check the discs and nerves of the spine for conditions such as bulging discs, herninated discs, or spinal tumors (â€Å"Magnetic Resonance Imaging†). In contrast, CT Scans can be used to get images of the body as a whole, or certain parts such as the chest, abdomen, pancreas, or limb. For example, a CT of the chest would look for problems with the lungs, heart, esophagus, or the tissues in the center of the chest (â€Å"Computed Tomography†). CT Scans are often used to take a full scan of a patient’s abdomen, and they are now considered the forefront for evaluating most problems that affect the abdomen (Marieb 8). As opposed to an MRI, a CT of the arm or leg would not only look at the soft tissue, but it would also examine the blood vessels and bones of that limb as well (â€Å"Computed Tomography†). Pliura 4 Although these cutting-edge technologies provide us with life-saving information, they both have problems of their own (â€Å"CT Scan vs. MRI†). The major concern with a CT Scan is the radiation. At maximum power, a CT Scan can give radiation equal to 600 chest X-rays. This can lead to the possibility of cancer in some patients (Ryan). Rebecca Bindman, professor of radiology and one of the nation’s top experts in the risk of radiographs, states that a 20-year old women who gets an abdominal-pelvic CT Scan has a 1 in 250 chance of getting cancer from that single scan. The best estimates are that radiation from CT’s cause 29,000 excess cancers each year in the U. S. , and this is mostly in women. Nearly 60 million Americans will receive a CT Scan in a given year, and some experts suggest over one-third of these scans are unnecessary. This leads to the realization that if we could reduce the unnecessary scans, we could possibly reduce cancer (Wachter). Pregnant women are also not recommend to get a CT for the large amounts of radiation that could be exposed to the fetus. In some cases the X-rays of a CT Scan can actually damage the DNA of the developing fetus. Since the federal government has no regulations on the amount of radiation a patient receives during a CT, the referring physician decides the strength of the dose. This is why it’s critical a physician has the best understanding possible to only give the necessary amounts of radiation (Ryan). Although the MRI avoids radiation exposure, it’s not without problems either (Shiel). One of the downfalls of this machine is that it makes a tremendous amount of noise during the scan. The noise sounds like a continual, rapid hammering, and is due to the rising electrical currents being opposed by the magnetic field. People who are pregnant or obese most often Pliura 5 cannot fit into the MRI system (â€Å"MRI: Advantages and Disadvantages†). This is due to the very narrow tube the patient must be inserted into. Because of this some patients experience a claustrophobic sensation during the procedure (Shiel). In fact, 30% of patients admit to having some level of distress while having an MRI (â€Å"Claustrophobia and MRI†). The time required to complete an MRI examination is also not something to be excited about. While a CT Scan only takes 5 minutes, an MRI can sometimes take over 30 minutes to obtain an accurate read (â€Å"CT Scan vs.  MRI†). Since the scan takes so long, it requires patients to hold still for extended periods of time. This is why infants often cannot get an MRI; they are not able to hold still for a long enough period. Even slight movements of the part being scanned can cause distorted images which means the scanning has to be repeated (â€Å"MRI: Advan tages and Disadvantages†). The procedure of both scans have similarities and differences between them. For instance, both consist of a contrast dye that is injected into the scan area to enhance the definition (Ragavan). Additionally, during both procedures a medical attendant will be close by in case of emergency (Shiel). A moving couch is what actually moves the patient through the scanner of both machines. However, with a CT the person is moved through a hoop that has the shape of a very large doughnut. Whereas with a MRI, the moving couch moves the patient through a cylinder that nearly encloses the body. The scan’s results also differ in the fact that a CT’s results show up as a 2-dimensional image, whereas the magnetism of the MRI allows it to build up a 3-dimensional image of the body (Ragavan). The cost of each procedure is another aspect to consider carefully, especially if the cost is coming out-of-pocket. To put simply, CT Scans are much cheaper than MRI’s. CT’s cost Pliura 6 anywhere from $1,200-$3,200 while an MRI can cost up to $4,000. As a general rule, the MRI usually cost double what a CT Scan would cost. It becomes the patient’s choice as to whether they want to spend less on a lower-grade image or more on a higher-grade image. The cost of the machine itself also distinguishes the two machines. A very low end CT Scanner costs around $150,000, while a top-of-the-line CT Scanner can cost in upwards of $450,000. This is a small amount when compared to the $1 Million dollars most new MRI machines cost. Furthermore, some of the top-of-the-line MRI machines can cost almost $1. 5 Million. Both the CT and MRI will require annual maintenance, which can also cost tens of thousands of dollars (â€Å"CT Scan vs. MRI†). In conclusion, and as mentioned earlier, each scan operates in its own way and both are better suited for different types of diagnoses. Therefore, it is not which scan is better overall, rather, it’s which scan will best help the physician diagnose the patient for that particular case. Works Cited â€Å"Claustrophobia and MRI. † proscan. com. PDF file. â€Å"Computed Tomography (CT) Scan of the Body. † WebMD. WebMD, 21 Sept. 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. â€Å"CT Scan vs. MRI. † Diffen. Diffen, 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. â€Å"Magnetic Resonance Imaging. † WebMD. WebMD, 16 May 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. Marieb, Elaine. Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology. San Franciso, CA: Pearson Benjamenin Cummings, 2009. Print. â€Å"MRI: Advantages and Disadvantages. † Anapol Schwartz. Anapol Schwartz, 2008. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. Ragavan, Vijayan. â€Å"MRI and CT Scan The Differences. † Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 8 Jul. 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. Ryan, David. â€Å"Advantages and Disadvantages of a CT Scan. † LIVESTRONG. com. Demand Media, 16 Aug. 2013. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. Shiel, William. â€Å"Magnetic Resonance Imaging. † MedicineNet. com. MedicineNet. com, 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. Wachter, Bob. â€Å"A Game-Changing Statistic: 1 in 250. † The Health Care Blog. The Health Care Blog, 11 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. â€Å"What is the Difference Between CT and MRI? † University MRI Diagnostic Imaging Centers. University MRI, 2004. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

Critical race theory and Inequality-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Critical race theory and Inequality. Answer: Introduction to the theory The Critical race theory(CRT) has helped in determining the different kinds of inequalities based on the race and the positioning of the people in the society. It has helped in determining the cultures and the heritage of the people who are politically and suppressed people (Harris et al., 2012). It is a branch of the social sciences that deals with the knowledge of the society and its trends. Moreover, it also portrays the understanding of the different factors that has led to the inequalities in the society. The study of the theory helps in determining the driving forces that has affected the functioning of the power in the nation. The understanding of the different forms of inequalities has helped in the evolution of the theories for the better understanding of the conditions that has led to the inequalities in the nations. The major aspects of the change in the situation of the nation are based specifically on the different inequalities pertaining to the race, gender or the power . Purpose of the report The purpose of this discussion is to understand the different critical factors of the CRT theory and the manner in which it helps in understanding the situations of the racial discrimination and inequality in Australia. The theory not only reflects on the discrimination of the different races but also helps in determining the major role that is played by the political power of the nation in this connection. Race inequality in Australia The issues that are faced by the inhabitants and the new migrants of the nation are based on the factor of the inequality. The discrimination of the races and the culture of the people in terms of employability, education or other factors affect their lives. On the other hand, there are certain regulations that forbid the effects of the inequalities like Racial Discrimination Act 1975(RDA). The Racial Discrimination Act 1975(RDA) clearly stated that the discrimination among people based on the race, color, national or ethnic origin is unlawful (Kingsley et al., 2013). However, there are instances where the discrimination has affected the lives of the people largely based on the preferences of the employers influenced by the political support. The situation that is faced by the Aboriginals in the nation has affected their livelihood. The poor health and sanitation conditions and the employability of the people is affected through the inequality in the region. The uneven cash flow syst em has affected the development of the suppressed race of the region thereby affecting their healthy livelihood. According to DiGiacomo et al., (2013) the different aspects of the change in the society is based on the understanding of the challenges that are faced by the people due to the discrimination based on the race and the culture of the people. However, Browne-Yung et al., (2013) stated that the understanding of inequality is based on the political and the social influences that have affected the livelihood of the people living in the nation. The health conditions of the indigenous people are affected through the inequality that is faced by the people living in the diverse regions of the nation. Kelaher (2014) stated that some 22% of the people face a growth in the mortality rate of the people living in the different sections of the society. On the other hand, the determination of the different situations that are faced by them has helped in the understanding of the ill effects of the racial discrimination. The race inequality in the society has affected the functioning of the people and the livelihoods of the same. Cunningham and Paradies (2013) stated that the employability of the people is affected through the inequality in the society. On the other hand, the educational systems and the other facilities are not provided to the people based on the functioning of the inequality. The political power of the nation is recently taking steps in order to amend the required changes in favor of the deprived people. The major asp ects of the change in the structure and the functioning of the legislative body have helped in determining the level of inequality and the adverse effects that are faced by the people relating to the same. The link between the theory and the scenario The theory has helped in determining the different aspects of the change in the structure and the functioning of the political systems in order to determine the level of inequality and racism to which the people of the nation is subjected to. The uneven cash flow and the liquidity of the same has affected the livelihood of the people living in the region. Aspin et al., (2012) stated that the livelihood of the people is dependent on determining the different aspects of the change in the society, which is characterized by inequality. The theory has helped in the understanding of the aspects of the inequality that is affecting the practices and the lifestyle of the people living in the Australian society. The determination of the racial discrimination has affected the societal change that the government of the nation seeks to undertake (Durey Thompson, 2012). The employability of the people and the rendering of the facilities that are amended to the people living in the city are not pr ovided to the people living at the outskirts of the nation. On the other hand, the understanding of the subtle changes in the society is determined through the proper evaluation of the situation of the society in the nation. Conclusion Therefore, from the above discussion it can be stated that the proper identification of the issues relating to the inequalities in the society is clearly determined through the theories. The Critical race theory(CRT) has helped in the understanding of the situation of the Australian society and the racial discrimination that has affected the lives of the indigenous and Strait Islander people of the nation. the issues that are faced by the same is also enumerated as a part of the report for the proper understanding of the concepts of the inequality and the manner in which it affects the livelihood of the people living in the nation. References Aspin, C., Brown, N., Jowsey, T., Yen, L., Leeder, S. (2012). Strategic approaches to enhanced health service delivery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with chronic illness: a qualitative study.BMC health services research,12(1), 143. Browne-Yung, K., Ziersch, A., Baum, F., Gallaher, G. (2013). Aboriginal Australians' experience of social capital and its relevance to health and wellbeing in urban settings.Social Science Medicine,97, 20-28. Cunningham, J., Paradies, Y. C. (2013). Patterns and correlates of self-reported racial discrimination among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, 200809: analysis of national survey data.International journal for equity in health,12(1), 47. DiGiacomo, M., Davidson, P. M., Abbott, P., Delaney, P., Dharmendra, T., McGrath, S. J., ... Vincent, F. (2013). Childhood disability in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: a literature review.International journal for equity in health,12(1), 7. Durey, A., Thompson, S. C. (2012). Reducing the health disparities of Indigenous Australians: time to change focus.BMC health services research,12(1), 151. Harris, A. P., Crenshaw, K., Gotanda, N., Peller, G., Thomas, K. (2012). Critical race theory.International Encyclopedia of the Social Behavioral Sciences. Kelaher, M. A. (2014). Experiencing racism in health care: the mental health impacts for Victorian Aboriginal communities.Education,55(56), 8-3. Kingsley, J., Townsend, M., Henderson-Wilson, C., Bolam, B. (2013). Developing an exploratory framework linking Australian Aboriginal peoples connection to country and concepts of wellbeing.International journal of environmental research and public health,10(2), 678-698.

There are many similarities between looking for a rain god and Veronica Essay Example

There are many similarities between looking for a rain god and Veronica Paper I agree with the statement above, There are many similarities between Looking for a rain god and Veronica. Both of the stories are written in a way that draws the reader into the stories picture, the other similarity is that of the themes. The themes, which the two stories include, are those of poverty, isolation, death and helplessness. Both stories are set in countries and places, which are far removed from ours in distance and culture adding to the similarities between the two. However these themes are presented in different ways, both giving a similar impression. There is a mixture of key elements, which make the two stories differ in the way they are presented; in structure, characterisation, use of language and dialogue. These differences are used to give us the reader a diverse and greater understanding of how the separate themes work in the different stories. As in all good stories themes are used help us to understand the characters and the author on a deeper level. The most evident theme in Veronica and Looking For A Rain God is that of isolation and distance. The land, which Bessie Head (writer of Looking For A rain God) describes, is one that is cut off from the rest of the world and ultimately lonely. The opening line conveys this well We will write a custom essay sample on There are many similarities between looking for a rain god and Veronica specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on There are many similarities between looking for a rain god and Veronica specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on There are many similarities between looking for a rain god and Veronica specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It is lonely at the lands where people go to plough Bessie Head (The writer of Looking For A Rain God) uses the first paragraph to set a scene of distance and isolation. This is done to try to help us gain insight and understand the situation and characters. Adewale Maja-Pearce or Okeke (The writer of Veronica) also tries to use the theme of isolation and distance to help understand the story better. Although in contrast to Looking For A Rain God it is for a more personal reason, partly to understand his friends actions. When Okeke returns to Veronica for the first time after becoming a doctor he is shocked at how little has changed. Veronica is not so shocked and although her words may sound accusing they in fact reveal a level of understanding of her isolation. She says simply to Okeke I am still here, as you left me. The writers have been brought up in areas distant to ours and the western world. The isolation they talk about seems shocking and extreme to us, but the writers are more concerned with the effects of living in isolation. This isolation that both writers try to tackle brings about a helplessness they both feel towards the different situations. In Veronica Okeke is about to move away to the city and wants Veronica to follow him there as he feels helpless to the fact she is stuck in a constant cycle of unhappiness. He tries to persuade her to come with him, but there is always something standing in the way. When asked to come to the city she replies sharply No, the city is for you, not me. What will I do once I get there? I have no qualifications, not even Standard Six. This is in contrast to LFARG as it seems like there is no solution to the seven year drought. Bessie talks about how such a tiny village whos economy relies solely on farming as the main source of money can suffer. She writes about the helplessness and growing concern No one knew what to do to escape the heat and tragedy that was in the air The themes in both stories help to mould the tone, making it solemn and remorseful. The stories carry such a tone because both narrators perhaps feel an underlining guilt for what happened, accompanied by a feeling that they would not have acted differently if it had happened to them. Bessie Head makes her views clear when she writes But all people who lived off crops knew in their hearts that only a hairs breadth saved them from sharing a similar fate. In Veronica to the scene where Veronica refuses to go to the city, the writer admits that he understood her point of view. But he was still resentful as he writes Although I knew there was a lot of truth in what she said I resented her arguments. There is a similar setting in Veronica and Looking For A Rain God which may explain why they share many prominent themes. This can be explained due to the fact that they are both stories taken from writers who have lived in an isolated and distant place. But this can over shadow the fact that both stories differ greatly in how they present similar but vastly different ideas. The structure is very different in the Looking For A Rain God to Veronica. Bessie Head writes the story from a third person narrative and is describes a villagers view of story, which gives us a wider insight. Looking For A Rain God is split into three sections; the first creates a background to the story and a short image of what life is like, the second tells the story of the family, finally the third analyses what has happened and portrays its effect on the village. Veronica, in comparison, is not so complicated in structure; instead it focuses solely on the relationship between the writer and Veronica, ending in her death. The story is mainly told using dialogue and a bit of narrative, it is written only in the first person. The use of dialogue seperates the two stories, as it gives Veronica an added depth to the characters and leaves more to be interpreted by the reader. The language in Looking For A Rain God compared to Veronica is far richer, describing in detail the significant elements of the story. This works towards setting a deeper background making up for the lack of personal touch. For instance Bessie Head describes the land seven times in the opening paragraph. The language in Veronica is direct, with the Okeke letting the actions which happen tell the story rather than him, again showing a further willingness for the story to be interpreted freely. This works as he does not write with a particular view instead just his memoirs. The Narrative is the main reason why the stories are noticeably presented differently. Veronica is written in the first person narrative, as the writer actually experienced what he is writing about, so we see it through his eyes. His motives for writing the story lend well to a first person narrative, as he wants to analyses what happened between him and Veronica. So by going over his actions and speech he can better understand how he felt about her. Rather than the story being only about veronica it is instead about what Okeke did or said in relation to her. Again as in Veronica the narrative is dictated in Looking For A Rain God by the aims of the writer. Bessie Head wishes to convey a way of showing the effects of isolation and distance when a major disaster happens and what the implications for that can be. The third person narrative also helps Bessie Head, convey the complex mixture of old traditions and new ones, also to analyses that. As none of what happens involved her she writes about it as an onlooker to the story and offering her explanations. As the title of this essay says there are many similarities between Veronica and Looking For A Rain God. But the narrative and aims of the two writers means these ideas are presented in different ways.

Journal Prompts for the Elementary Classroom

Journal Prompts for the Elementary Classroom As you design a   journal writing program for your students, its a good idea to use journal prompts so that your students are working on productive creative writing. A journal writing checklist helps your students assess their own progress each time they write. Journal Prompts for the Classroom Here is a list of teacher-tested journal topics to help you get started in your journal writing routine: What is your favorite season? Describe how you feel during different times of the year.What is your favorite game? Think about indoor games, outdoor games, board games, car games, and more!Write about your favorite subject in school. What is your least favorite subject?What do you want to be when you grow up? Choose and describe at least three jobs that you think you would enjoy.What is your favorite holiday and why? What traditions do you and your family share?What qualities do you look for in a friend? How do you try to be a good friend to others?Have you ever had to apologize for something you did? How did you feel before and after the apology?Describe a typical day in your life. Use sensory detail (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste) to make your daily experience come to life.Describe a fantasy day in your life. If you could design a whole day to do anything and everything you wanted, what would you choose to do?If you could choose one superpower to have for a day, which would you select? Describe in detail your activities as a superhero. Should children have strict bedtimes? What do you think is a fair bedtime for children your age and why?Write about your brothers and sisters. If you dont have any, do you wish you did?What is more important in life: presents or people?What do you think is the perfect age to be? If you could choose one age and stay that age forever, what would you choose?Do you have any nicknames? Describe where the nicknames came from and what they mean to you.Write about what you do on the weekends. How do your weekends differ from your weekdays?What are your favorite foods? What are your least favorite foods? Describe how it feels to eat each of the foods.What is your favorite type of weather? Write about how your activities change with different types of weather.When you are feeling sad, what cheers you up? Describe in detail.Describe your favorite game. What do you like about it? Why are you good at it?Imagine that you are invisible. Write a story about the day you turned invisible.Describe what its like to be you. Write about a day in your life. What is the most interesting thing that you know how to do? What makes it interesting and why do you do it?Imagine that you went to school and there were no teachers! Talk about what you did that day. Edited By: Janelle Cox

Beyond the Need for a House Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Beyond the Need for a House - Essay Example From these numerous studies, "I'm Tired of Being a Slave to the Church Floor" by John Stackhouse, "The Homeless: Are We Part of the Problem" by Jack Layton, "Life on the Streets" by Thomas O'Reilly Fleming, and "No Room of Her Own" by CMHC, Sylvia Novac, J. Brown are used to support the arguments of this paper. One common theme of these articles is the identification of what causes homeless as well as how it can be solved. Meanwhile, in the pursuit of resolving homelessness, various sectors of the society are determining the root cause of homelessness often attributing it to structural problems like uneven wealth and power distribution, poverty, lack of employment opportunities, and housing shortages. This is often due to the widespread belief that problems in shelter are more economic and structural in nature. However, homelessness should not be looked at just the lack of a permanent physical structure to settle into but the individual's lack of belongingness and comfort. The real root of homelessness goes beyond the broad economic and societal issues present in the community to more specific and deeper needs for emotional shelter. The National Coalition for the Homeless cites seven major causes of homelessness four of which are structural problems. ... Unemployment on the other hand limits the ability of an individual to generate income in order to afford a decent house. People who are unemployed generally lack money to rent a place to stay that's why they prefer streets and shelters. Homelessness is also blamed to the inadequate or lack of social intervention from the government. Declining welfare is also synonymous with only few people benefiting from it. These aforementioned structural issues and the respective explanation on how they contribute to the problem of homelessness fail to tell the true story. It is partly true that homelessness can be explained by the imperfections in the economic structure. However, if that is the case, we should expect countries which are more economically developed like the United States to have less or no occurrence of homelessness. Furthermore, the articles under consideration reveal that the cause of homelessness goes beyond these structural issues. Stackhouse, Layton, O' Reilly Fleming, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CHMC) provided support to the argument that homelessness is also caused by individual factors unique to each homeless. Stackhouse's account which relates the situation of BJ disproves the assumption that all homeless cannot afford a home. It should be noted that BJ, a panhandler living in the streets of Toronto, has a two-story home in Newfoundland (230). Also, being unemployed is not always a reason why people seek shelters. Stackhouse recounts the story of an "overnight guest" who earns $600 to $700 each week by hauling scrap metals to dumps. The support from the government may well be useless as some homeless like Jake do not collect their welfare. Thus, using structural

Cosmological Argument. The forms of cosmological arguments Essay

Cosmological Argument. The forms of cosmological arguments - Essay Example Cosmological arguments usually strive to explain the existence of God in many forms. Many philosophers in the past, from Aristotle and Kalam to Aquinas, tried to argue the existence of God in different ways (Taliaferro 21). The several forms of cosmological arguments usually explain the existence of God in the following ways: that there is the existence of things, that it is possible for the same things not to exist and that those that are non-existing, yet they exist, must have been caused to exist. On this note, it is an illogical fact that things cannot bring themselves into existence since they must exist to bring themselves into existence. The argument shows that an infinite number of causes that can bring something into existence cannot exist. This is because there is no initial cause of an infinite regression of causes, meaning that the cause of existence is not there. Cosmological arguments try to prove that the universe has a cause since it exists. This shows that all things have an uncaused cause, and the uncaused cause must be God (Craig and Moreland 52). The most successful cosmological argument is Thomas Aquinas’ argument of contingence. Aquinas (1225–1274) was a theologian born in Medieval Europe. ... One has to use all the five arguments since all of them form the basis of his argument (Craig and Moreland 56). The Argument from Motion Using the works of Aristotle, Aquinas through observation, concluded that any moving object is able to move because another supreme object or supreme force makes it move. He observed that there must have been a mover that was making the objects move. This mover must have been unmoved and it must have been God. Aquinas believed that of all the things that were moving, none could move itself. This means that nothing can move itself. He also noted that in order that all objects to be in motion, the first object to be in motion needed a mover. He also said that the mover was unmoved and was God and that movement cannot last forever. Aquinas believed that all things must be at rest and motion is unnatural. According to him, motion is any change that occurs, for example, growth, rotation, etc. He concluded that a supernatural power must have put the state of motion (Craig and Moreland 61). The Argument of Causation of Existence In the argument of causation of existence, Aquinas said that it was logical that nothing can create itself. There must have been a previous object, which created it. This first object must have been uncaused cause and it must have been God. He concluded that causation of all things that exist, are other things and that nothing can be the cause of itself. The things that cause other things to exist cannot be an endless string of objects; therefore, the first uncaused cause is God (Craig and Moreland 63). The Argument of Contingence The argument of contingence is the modal argument. Aquinas argued that an uncaused